Twisted Deceit
by deoki tenchi
Summary: Murder Mystery! Life seemed to be perfect for the gang until one of them is found dead. who could have done it? please read and review! chapter 5 now up
1. The Joys of Life

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh and unfortunately never will, however I do own Mina.

Well this is my third story. Hopefully it will be better than my second one (I've even disowned it's name). Finally my technology coursework is finished and out of the way never to be looked at again!!! (Waves streamers in the air and has a party!) Even though I get off for study leave next week before my AS exams start (boooooo!!) I had a long weekend to get this story started. This one has been in the making for several months now and I've finally decided to get on with it.

Alter ego: with my help of course!

Deoki: yes, I know… this time my alter ego gave me a hand in writing this one, so you can guarantee Téa bashing in later chapters. If you're a Téa fan, I don't recommend that you read this.

Alter ego: too right, the bitch should be boiled alive in a bucket of her own friendship speeches mwhahahaaaaa!!

Deoki: nobody wants to know what you think, my dear alter ego.

Alter ego: you obviously do or you wouldn't have asked me to help write your story! And there's something I meant to ask you… why don't I have a name?

Deoki: because all you do is bitch and complain about everything and everyone and you forgot to give yourself a name! But if you must insist on having one then just call yourself my Yami.

Alter ego: how original…well… I suppose yami deoki sounds better than alter ego. Ok, it'll do… for now…

Deoki: why are you such a sarcastic bitch?

Yami deoki: and why the hell you boring everyone my dear hikari!? Just get on with the story!

Deoki: fine then! (Turns back to everyone else) Ok, just so you all know, Seto, Mina, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Téa, Duke and Ryou are 22 years old, Mokuba is 16, Mai is 24, Serenity is 19 and Ishizu is 29. Also note that this is not, I repeat, this is **NOT **a continuation to Kaiba's Crisis so you don't have to have read that crappy story to understand this as who Mina is, is explained in this story. And yes, she is still Kaiba's younger twin.

Twisted Deceit

… … …

Chapter 1 – The Joys of Life

The Domino Cinema was buzzing with excitement. Everywhere you turned, cameras were flashing and people were shouting and reporters from practically every newspaper and magazine in the country were pushing against each other to get as close to the red carpet as they possibly could. They all had one goal in mind… to see Mina Kaiba. She was one of the world's biggest movie stars and had returned to Domino for the premiere of her new movie. She not only returned for the movie premiere, she had also returned because she decided to take a year out to spend more time with her brothers Seto and Mokuba. All of her friends and Mokuba had already made it down the red carpet and were waiting for her in the cinema lobby.

"Where is she already, and where's Kaiba?" moaned a very impatient Joey

"Mina's on her way, and Seto is with her. She wanted him to walk down the red carpet with her, so he's in her limo with her," said an equally impatient Mokuba

"How come you're here with us? Why didn't you come with her?"

"She did want me to go with her too, but I decided to arrive a bit earlier to make sure everything was alright with the cinema and that there was enough security to deal with the press and the screaming fans," replied Mokuba

Just as Joey was about to start complaining again, his voice was drowned out by the screams of the fans and press at the approaching black limo. When the limo stopped at the end of the red carpet, the driver got out of the front and went to open the door at the back of the limo to reveal an unusually tall woman wearing a deep blue dress to compliment her eyes with a slit on the left to the top of her thigh, diamond studded sandals to match the diamond studded pattern on the dress and the diamond and sapphire choker around her neck. She had long brown hair, which came to about half way down her back and fell down the front of her shoulders. She looked very much like her male counterpart who emerged from the limo after her not wearing his usual trench coat, but wearing a black tux. This was Mina and Seto Kaiba. They had been voted 'world's sexiest twins' for the past three years in a row in almost every magazine on the planet. The Kaiba Corp CEO wasn't too pleased and preferred to keep his private life to himself, but when you've got a sister as famous as Mina, privacy is generally thrown out the window. In fact, a lot of the female fans in the crowds weren't there just to see Mina; they were also there to see Seto [a/n: why wouldn't they, he's totally hot!] They proceeded to walk up the red carpet (well, walk isn't a good word to use for Seto, he more or less ran up the red carpet to avoid the cameras) and Mina stopped about half way to talk to the fans and then to the press. She pulled Seto into a few pictures before he broke free and joined the others in the cinema.

"Where's Mina?" shouted Yugi because he could barely hear himself

"She's still talking to the press and posing for pictures…. (Looks around and sees Joey and Mai) what are the mutt and his bitch doing here? I thought this screening was for VIP's only, not common kennel folk" smirked the already pissed off Kaiba.

Joey was about to rip right into Kaiba when a very pregnant Mai got there first…

"For your information **Mr. Kaiba**, Joey and I just so happen to be very good friends of your dear little sister and she **personally** invited us to this screening. So if you don't like it, you can just piss off now!" snapped Mai who is just moments away from punching him            

"Wheeler… why don't you be a gentleman and get your **wife** here a seat before she tires herself out, after all I don't want to be disturbed during the film by her falling into labour." And with that, Kaiba went back to the red carpet to retrieve Mina from the press

"You never know if he really cares or not do you, I mean, he's the only person I know who can show concern without emotion" remarked the white haired hikari

"Shut up Ryou and stop taking his side! Come on Mai, let's go, we'll meet them in the cinema"

"Since when do you take orders from Kaiba! I'll be fine, I came here because Mina invited us and I'm not leaving this spot until we see her and we can all go into the cinema together." Mai had Joey's hand by this stage and was giving him the puppy dog eyes, which everyone is only too familiar of.

Joey could do nothing but give in; Mai had him right where she wanted him. He simply put his arm around her and said, "alright, but just so that you can talk to Mina, and besides, we can't go in without the other two" he gave her a smile and kissed her.

After a few more minutes of standing around, 'the other two' Tristan and Serenity emerged from the red carpet…

"Where have you two been?" scolded Téa

"Sorry we're late, we got stuck in traffic and it didn't help to get stuck in the press swamping Mina either" panted Tristan who was out of breath.

"The idea was to get here **before** Mina arrived so that we wouldn't be crowded by everyone out there…dumb ass," remarked the dark and spiky haired guy with the dice hanging from his ear

"Shut up Duke! Look, I said we were sorry, don't be so uptight!" shouted back Tristan

"Calm down Tristan… look, here comes Mina now," said Serenity as she placed Tristan's hand in her own.

And sure enough, it was Mina herself, followed very closely by Seto. She met everyone in the traditional Hollywood style of air kisses on either cheek. Mina and Mai had been friends for a very long time since before Mai had even met Joey at Duellist Kingdom six years previously. Mina walked into the cinema linked to Mai with her right arm and Mokuba on her left. They were followed by Tristan and Serenity who were also linking arms, followed by Yugi and Ryou, a pissed off looking Téa and Duke and last but definitely not least, Seto and Joey. They just gave each other an evil stare until they found themselves being pushed by the people behind them who were also entering the cinema. After their silent staring match, they eventually joined the others already in the cinema to watch Mina's latest masterpiece.

When the movie was over, the gang went to the after party. Joey and Mai didn't stay long because Joey didn't want Mai to tire herself out and wanted her to go home, also Mai wanted to get Joey home before he ended up in fight with Kaiba as she didn't fancy having to drag him out of it. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves; even the CEO himself was caught with a smile on his face once he had a few drinks in him, although, he never actually got drunk as he was still sharp enough to pull the drink out of Mokuba's hand. Even Yugi and Ryou enjoyed themselves, or at least they think they did. They were both so plastered by the end of the night that they couldn't even stand up and they were barley able to remember anything beyond watching the movie, therefore they had to be dropped home by Tristan and Serenity. The only two who seemed like they really didn't want to be there were Téa and Duke. Téa was pissed off at Yugi and Ryou's behaviour and also the fact that Ryou narrowly missed puking on her and Duke seemed to be more annoyed at the fact that Tristan had dared to dance with and kiss Serenity in front of him – even though Tristan and Serenity had been going together for the past four years – the only reason was because Duke still resented the fact that a few months after he and Serenity had broken up, she got together with Tristan and Duke always hated it because he wanted to get back with her.

… … …

Three days had passed since the movie premiere. Mina was back at home at the Kaiba mansion with Seto and Mokuba and some persistent photographers who were camping out down the street to catch a picture of her wherever she went. Of course today was going to be no exception as Mina was going out shopping with Mai and Téa. While the girls were out shopping, Joey went over to Yugi's house (who by the way still lives at the game shop)

"Hey Yugi! How's it goin'?"

"I'm fine thanks! How's you and Mai?"

"She's doing great. She's actually away out with Mina and Téa"

"Yeah I know, Téa told me this morning. How long does Mai have left now?" asked Yugi

"She's got about two weeks left, luckily she hasn't had any false alarms **yet** so at least I can still get a good nights sleep. Until the baby's born that is," sighed Joey

"Do you know what the baby is yet?"

"Nope. The doctors know though…they asked us if we wanted to know, but Mai and I decided to wait," said Joey with a big smile across his face. "Anyway, have you recovered from the party? I mean by the time Mai and I had left; you and Ryou were pretty out of it and from what Tristan told me yesterday, the two of you were completely wasted by the end of the night!"

Yugi started to blush at the thought of what happened only a few nights ago, "yeah…well, I don't really remember much, but I had one hell of a hangover and I've just been in bed until yesterday afternoon. It wasn't even our fault! It was Yami and Bakura!"

"What do ya mean?" said a puzzled looking Joey

"I remember the start of the party; Ryou didn't want to stay too long, but Bakura had other ideas. So he ended up swapping with Ryou and stayed in control for most of the night. After he had a few drinks, he got a bit mouthy and started challenging me to a drinking competition. I couldn't have cared less about what he wanted, but you know Yami, he can't resist a challenge. And the next thing I know, Bakura starts calling Yami all the chickens and cowards under the sun, and that's when Yami came barging into my mind and took over to accept the challenge. I remember them making us take shots of this weird Russian stuff and I don't remember much after that…well, I remember waking up in the back of Tristan's car but I fell asleep again after that so I don't remember exactly how much Yami made me drink!"

Joey could do nothing but laugh at Yugi, "Better you than me man!"

"I guess Mai really has whipped you into shape!" smirked Yugi "you're quite different now that you're married, it's only been a year and you're a lot more mature than you once were."

"Well, when you find the girl of your dreams I can say the same about you… oh wait, you already have!" Joey said in an annoying sarcastic tone [a/n: a bit like you my yami. YD: oh shut up deoki and get on with the story!]

"What do you mean, I already have?"

"Well, there's... Oh I don't know…. oh yeah, her name's Téa isn't it!?" once again in an annoying tone

Yugi started to blush again and didn't reply

"Oh come on Yugi, don't stand there and tell me you don't like her!" laughed Joey

"I didn't say anything!" Yugi remarked

"You didn't need to, your silence did the talking for you. And you still didn't answer me. I know you've been after Téa for years, we all do! Hell even Kaiba knows and that's saying something and I wouldn't even be surprised if she knew herself!" smirked Joey

"It's not like I haven't tried" frowned Yugi

"How do you mean?" said Joey in quite an enquiring voice

"I've already asked her out twice before and she said no" Yugi's frowns almost made him look totally depressed now

"WHAT!!" screamed Joey, "you've never told me that before! And she said no?" Joey now started to scratch his head as if in deep thought. "Why would she say no? I always thought she wanted you to ask her out, we all did…I'm confused!"

"I think she said no because…she likes someone else" replied Yugi

"Someone else? Like who?" Joey's still confused

"Like Tristan"

"TRISTAN!!" Joey screamed again, "don't be ridiculous Yugi, and besides, Tristan's with Serenity and if I ever found out that he was cheating on her, he wouldn't be around for very long to continue! What makes you think Téa likes Tristan? Did she tell you?"

"No, she didn't tell me exactly, it's just the way she gets on around him. I mean, she always wants to hang out with him, and she's always really happy and cheery around him and all she does is flirt with him…"

"So what! She flirts with everyone; I've even seen her use her 'good girl' routine on Kaiba! Not that he plays along or anything, he usually tells her to piss off…" he then sees the annoyed look on Yugi's face, "but anyway…"

Yugi cuts him off, "but nothing… have you never noticed that when he's on his own, she's as nice as anything around him and even her normal self yet whenever he's with Serenity – and I've noticed this a lot lately – she's very bitchy and has a short fuse, it's as if she's annoyed by them being together…she reminds me a bit of Duke actually!"

"Funnily enough, no, I hadn't noticed. You're imagining things Yugi. But it goes to show just how much you like Téa if you're noticing tiny little details like that!" said Joey with a smile on his face trying to cheer Yugi up. "Anyway, speaking of Tristan and Serenity, they've invited us all round to dinner at their house this evening…"

"Yeah, I know, Tristan called not long before you arrived. He said that he and Serenity have something to tell us. Do you know what it is?" said a happier Yugi

"No. Just 'cause I'm her brother doesn't mean I know all her secrets. She just said it was important that we were all there."

"Yeah, you're right, he did say it was important… I wonder what it could be? Yugi thought out loud

"Don't know… anyway, I'd better be getting back before Mai does. Don't forget, we're picking you up, so I'll see you tonight at around 6?" Asked Joey as he was about to leave the shop

"Sounds great, see you then. Bye Joey!"

"See you later Yugi!"

Joey then left the shop thinking to himself what could be so important that his sister and Tristan had summoned everyone round to their house. He just hoped it wasn't anything bad… 

Well that's the first chapter, I know that not much happened, but be patient, the point of this chapter is to set up atmosphere and to understand the relationships between the characters as it will become important later in the story, also note some of the dialogue as it is also important to remember for later.

Also thanks to wanderer for your review, it was greatly appreciated and I agree Joey and Mai are a very good couple!

Please remember to review; all types of flame and constructive criticism are welcome as it helps me to write better stories

Yami deoki: hey when do I get a turn to write!?

Deoki: when it's the murder scenes

Yami deoki: oh good! So who's the first victim?

Deoki: you'll have to wait and see…


	2. The Announcement

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh so don't sue! However, I do own Mina.

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated (well, a while for me anyway) but I'm finally off for study leave (yey!) so I can write at the weekends because unfortunately I have to revise during the week. Also I deleted the Kaiba's Crisis story so I'm feeling happy today.

Anyway…

Yami deoki: it's about time you got onto the story and stop boring everyone about the exams, which **I **have to take!

Deoki: you're just writing them, don't forget, I'm the brain behind it all!

Yami deoki: whatever!

Deoki: well on with the story…

Yami deoki: hold on a minute!

Deoki: what now!

Yami deoki: do I get to kill anyone in this chapter?

Deoki: no, the first death is in the next chapter, so you can write all you want then, but take notes because this chapter may inspire you as to why this character will be killed

Yami deoki: who is it anyway and who's doing the murder? (Whispers in her ear) really! Well, I know exactly how to get rid of that of that person, hmm…oh it will be perfect! (Runs away into a corner to plot the first murder)

Deoki: ok…(turns back to everyone) like I was saying, I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you to **wanderer** and **kaibas child** for your reviews, unfortunately you have to wait until the next chapter for the death…sorry! (Also conversations between yamis and their hikaris and thoughts will be in _italics_)

Twisted Deceit

… … …

Chapter 2 – The Announcement

"It's after 6, I'm gonna wait for Joey now grandpa!" Yugi shouted up the stairs as he was exiting through the empty shop, "I'll lock the door, don't wait up for me!"

And with that, Yugi, left the shop, locked the door behind him and waited for Joey. He looked at his watch and moaned, "the day that Joey's on time for anything will be the day that Kaiba calls him his best friend! Still, I shouldn't complain, he is giving me a lift after all. _I just hope he didn't forget_" and he folded his arms and waited patiently until he felt something from his Millennium puzzle…

Yami: _Yugi, are you alright? You seem a bit uneasy about something._

Yugi: _no, I'm just waiting for Joey and Mai to give me a lift to Tristan and Serenity's… and I'm also curious about what they want to tell us_

Yami: _I wander what it could be?_

Yugi: _don't know. But I will say this, don't go picking a fight with Bakura, the last time you two got into an argument I ended up blind stinking drunk and passed out and I don't think that Ryou is eager for a second round either! So please behave yourself and just ignore him if he does come out._

Yami: _I'm sorry Yugi, but he had it coming, I'll show him who can hold his drink!_

Yugi: _only it wasn't you who had to hold it, it's me. You were only knocking it back. But I forgive you nonetheless, just don't argue with him, you know he's a loser, it's a shame Ryou can't get rid of him!_

Yami: _like I said, I'm sorry, it's just that I can't resist a challenge… is that a car I hear? Is that Joey?_

Yugi: _yep! Fashionably late as usual!_

A blue open topped car pulled up and sure enough there was Mai in the passenger seat and Joey behind the wheel. Of course Yugi just had to ask, "what took you so long?"

"I'm sorry, it wasn't my fault this time! There was an accident in the centre of town and the traffic had to be diverted." Said Joey looking quite offended

"Sorry Jo, don't take it personally" apologized Yugi

"Nah, forget it, I'm always late anyway, I can't help it…are you gonna get in, or just stand there?"

"Sure lets go!" said Yugi as he jumped into the back seat. He then turned to talk to Mai, "so do you know what Tristan and Serenity summoned us for?"

"What makes you think I would know?" replied Mai

"Well, you and Serenity are very good friends and women in general have a habit of telling each other everything!"

"I hate to break it to you Yugi, but I don't know what it is she wants this time…but I think I've got a pretty good idea" said Mai with a mischievous look on her face

"Why, what do you think it is?" enquired Joey

"Let's just say I think the two of you should get your tuxes dry cleaned" smiled Mai

"Why" chimed both Yugi and Joey

Mai put her hand on her head, "you two are so dense it's almost unbelievable!"

Joey and Yugi just stared at Mai for a few seconds until Joey had to look back at the road as he nearly hit a lamp post…

"You still don't get it do you?" sighed Mai, "ok, here's what I think…I think that Tristan and Serenity are going to tell us that they're getting married!"

Joey slammed down the breaks, and as luck would have it, they were right outside Tristan and Serenity's house; and even more fortunately, there were no other cars driving down the street behind them

"Are you trying to kill me!" Shouted Mai as she was rubbing her neck

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stop so suddenly," Joey parked the car properly, then unclipped his seatbelt to massage Mai's neck

"What was that all about!" shouted Yugi who was also nursing a sore neck

"Tristan and Serenity are… are… getting **married!**" shouted Joey with a dumbfounded look on his face, "I don't believe it! My little sister! I still remember when she was just a baby!"

"She's a fully grown woman Joey…you have to let her go sometime, if she wants to get married, then that's her choice! Anyway, I didn't say they're getting married, I just said I **think** they are!"

"What do you mean **you **think…who else have you been thinking with!?" shouted back Joey…

Meanwhile, Yugi continued to sit in the back and polished his Millennium puzzle with his jacket

Yami: _should I say something?_

Yugi: _no…I think we should just leave them alone, Joey's just very overprotective of Serenity, he just thinks of her as his sweet and innocent little sister, but if they are getting married, he has to accept that she's an adult now_

Yami: _I guess you're right_

"What were you doing at Kaiba's house!?" continued Joey

"I went to see Mina while you were at work…is that a crime!?"

"No, I just…" she cuts him off

"Yesterday while I as there, the conversation of Tristan and Serenity came up because Serenity phoned to invite the Kaiba's over and we were discussing what it could be that they wanted. Mokuba agrees with me and thinks that they're getting married; Mr high and mighty Seto thinks that – to use his words – Serenity has been 'knocked up' (Joey's getting even more angry now) and Mina agrees with us both and thinks that they're not only getting married, but also that Serenity's pregnant!"

Joey is about to start again, but Mai puts her finger to his lips and continues…

"Let me finish… Seto, Mina and I decided to have a bet; we each bet 50 bucks that we were right; therefore the winner gets back their own money plus an extra hundred. Since Mokuba didn't enter the bet, he's the one who's keeping the money for us. I'm sorry I told you but I didn't think you'd get this upset, I thought you'd be happy if Tristan and Serenity got married… and besides, they haven't even told us yet and it's probably not what we think!" Mai takes her hand away from Joey now, as he seems a bit calmer

"What happens if it's not what any of you said?" Joey asked in a calm manner

"Then we just get our money back!" laughed Mai

There was silence between them for a few seconds until Joey broke it

"I'm sorry, I shouted at you and for overreacting like that" apologized Joey

"That's ok, I know you still think of Serenity as your baby sister and I don't think you'll ever stop, but you have to accept that she's a woman now…but I shouldn't have got you all worked up and I'm sorry too"

After they accepted each other's apologies, they leaned in and kissed… of course, Yugi was still sitting in the back

Yami: _do you think they know we're here?_

Yugi: _nope! It's come to my attention over the years that the lovers involved in a lovers quarrel tend to ignore everyone else around them_

Yami: _I think we should get out_

Yugi: _I agree _

Just as Yugi jumped out of the back, Joey and Mai broke away and Joey got out of the car to open the door for her

"Oh Joey, you're such a gentleman… is it any wonder why I married you" and they kissed again

Yugi just rolled his eyes and walked towards the door

"Hey Yug' wait up...sorry, you had to see that man!" said a more normal Joey

"No that's ok Jo…I'm glad you're both ok now though!" said Yugi with a beaming smile

"Thank you Yugi," said Mai as she took Joey's hand

The three of them walked up to the door and Joey rang the bell. Tristan answered and brought them in. As soon as they walked in, the aroma of the food hit them and made Joey's mouth water

"Hmmmm smells good!" Joey announced, "What's cookin'?"

"I don't exactly know… I was helping out earlier, but I kinda burnt a few things…so Serenity kicked me out of the kitchen" complained Tristan

"Typical man" sighed Mai

"Hey! I'll have you know that some of the finest chefs in the world are men!" said Tristan in an 'I know better than you' kind of tone

"Too bad you're not one of them…**sweetheart!**" scolded Serenity who emerged from the kitchen and practically threw herself on Joey, "It's great to see you big brother, I'm glad you came"

"You honestly think that Joey would turn down a free dinner!" laughed Yugi

"Shut up Yugi!" Joey looks into the living room sees almost everyone there, "Are we the last to arrive?"

"No, we're still waiting for the three Kaiba's," replied Serenity

"I should have known they'd be late…they probably want to make a dramatic entrance. Besides, its not like Kaiba could fit through the door anyway as his head's so big he'd probably get stuck!" laughed Tristan, although, no one else was laughing with him, in fact, they looked a bit horrified at him as he stood in the open doorway…

"What's the matter…why do you look so serious? (He finally clicks on)…he's standing right behind me isn't he?"

Everyone in the room nods including the ones in the living room who joined the others in the hall. Tristan turned round and was face to face with Seto Kaiba himself with Mina and Mokuba standing behind…

"You know, maybe I shouldn't come in, you wouldn't want my head to damage your **cheap** door frames!" Seto said with quite a menacing voice

"I was kidding Kaiba, I was just worried about tonight and took my anger out on you… I do apologize" [a/n: yami deoki: like hell he apologized!]

"Yeah…whatever" replied Kaiba in his usual flat monotone voice as he walked into the house, "and for your information, we were late because we were avoiding the press"

Seto pushed passed Tristan, went into the living room and sat on the nearest armchair in his usual manner with his arms folded and one leg over the other. Mina and Mokuba still stood in the doorway and rolled their eyes at Seto's behaviour.

"Ignore him…HE'S JUST ACTING LIKE A SPOILED LITLE BRAT!" shouted Mina so that Seto could hear

"Shut up Mina! The only one in here who's spoiled is you," muttered Seto

"Yeah, whatever…(she turns back to everyone else and whispers) I guess he has a right to be in a bad mood this time"

"Why?" asked Ryou

"Because some photographers managed to get over the wall earlier and took a picture of him **naked** in the shower through the downstairs bathroom window, cause his own shower upstairs is broken" she quietly giggles to herself, but Mokuba can't contain his laugher

"Hush you, we shouldn't be laughing, the paparazzi are getting worse they really are. Plus Seto threatened to sue the magazine if they publish the picture, so you can guarantee that more press will be round tomorrow!"

"How did you get here without the press following you?" asked Tristan as he looked down the street and then closed the door

"Lucy the maid, and our chef and trainee chef Tony and James dressed up as Seto, Mina and I and went out in the limo to draw the press away from the house. We left about 20 minutes later in the normal car so they don't know where we really are or that we're here!" answered Mokuba feeling very proud of himself, "It was my idea!"

"And it worked like a charm, so Lucy, Tony and James will be paid double in their next pay check to compensate for the annoyance they have to put up with tonight…and speaking of money, are we still on for tonight Mai?" asked Mina with a raised eyebrow

"You bet your ass I am, I could do with the cash, how about Mr sunshine in there, is he still up for it?" asked Mai

Before Mina could say anything, Seto came back into the hall

"Of course I'm still, as you say 'up for it' I never turn down a challenge, even if I don't need the money" cockily replied Seto

"What money are you talking about?" asked Duke who just sneaked out of the kitchen

Mokuba was just about to answer again, but Mina put her hand over his mouth and stopped him

"Never mind, it's just a little wager the three of us are having, it's nothing you need to concern yourself with!" Mina quickly spat out and turned to Serenity, "Anyway…when is dinner being served?"

"It's ready now so if you all go into the dining room, I'll bring out the champagne" smiled Serenity

"CHAMPAGNE!" said everyone except Tristan

"I guess this night won't be such a waste after all," remarked Seto

"What's with the champagne? What's the occasion?" asked Ishizu as she sat down next to Mokuba

"Tristan and Serenity have something special to tell us tonight, weren't you told?" asked Yugi

"No, the message left for me was that I was invited to dinner… I didn't ask why!"

"Same here!" commented Duke, Téa and Ryou

"Hey, congratulations Ishizu… Yugi told me that you got promoted to the homicide department," commented Mokuba, "How long have you been in the police now?"

"About 9 years…although I quite liked the smaller cases, the paper work always bored me and I wanted something more, I don't know…challenging I suppose, so that's why I love working the bigger cases in homicide. But thank you asking" smiled Ishizu

"It's strange that you're in the police and it's a known fact that your brother is a dodgy dealer isn't it?" remarked Ryou

"Yeah, I know and since I've been promoted, Marik won't even speak to me! But unfortunately there's nothing I can do…oh by the way" she looks down the table to Mina, "I'm sorry I wasn't at the premiere, it's just that I was stuck in the office until after 12 so I couldn't go"

"Oh that's ok, don't worry about it, it can't be helped if you're stuck at work and Yugi told me you weren't coming so it was alright" smiled Mina

"What's with the fancy table sis?" shouted Joey over the others

Tristan and Serenity entered the dining room carrying several bottles of champagne, water and lemonade between them

"Since we were having twelve for dinner, we needed a bigger table, so we rented this one and our own is currently in storage" answered Serenity

Tristan opened some of the bottles and placed them in the middle of the table while Serenity sat down at the end of the table with Ryou, Yugi, Joey, Mai and Téa on her right and Ishizu, Mokuba, Mina, Seto and Duke to her left.

"Aren't you going to pour us all a drink?" snapped Kaiba

"You're not helpless, and this ain't a restaurant!" barked Tristan

"Give it a rest Seto, I'm not in the mood to listen to your complaining" moaned Mina

"Whatever!" he sulked

Everyone grabbed for a bottle of something, including Ishizu and she poured herself a drink of champagne, "do you want some Serenity?" she offered

"No, I'm just gonna have water, but thank you anyway" Serenity politely replied and poured herself a glass of water

Seto looked over to Mai with the cockiest smirk known to man

"Don't even say it!" growled Mai

"I didn't open my mouth, but now that you mention it, I am **always **right and that money is as good as mine!"

"I must say Mai, it is looking up for us" added Mina as she winked

"What money do they keep talking about?" whispered Ryou to Yugi

"It's just some stupid bet they've got on and you know what the three of them are like, they never give in!" quietly replied Yugi

"Speaking of their bet" said Joey as he looked up and down the table, "hey you two, what did you invite us all round for? Other than this delicious dinner of course!"

Everyone was now looking up and down the table between Tristan and Serenity (including Seto as he wanted to know the fate of the money he bet) in hopes of getting an answer…

"Should we tell them now?" Serenity asked Tristan

"I think now's as good a time as any" smiled Tristan as got up and walked to the other end of the table to stand with Serenity

Serenity stood up, wrapped her arm around Tristan's and the two of them looked down at everyone looking back up at them

"We invited all you guys round tonight so that we could tell you…" he lets Serenity finish

"That we're engaged and are getting married!" smiled Serenity who now had almost turned hyper

"And we wanted you guys to find out at the same time" finished Tristan

Before anyone had a chance to say anything else Mai took this opportunity to gloat. She sat back, folded her arms and returned the smirk, which Seto had given her earlier, "So who's right now!?"

"This isn't over yet!" Mina quietly said across the table in hopes that she still had a chance to win it as Seto was now out

The room was surprisingly quiet given the announcement that was just made. Everyone's attention was divided between the couple at the head of the table, the three in the middle discussing money and of course Joey who looked like he was about to burst, but with anger, not excitement. When he stood up, the room went completely silent and everyone was staring at him. Yugi and Mai quickly shot a worried look at each other given his reaction earlier to the possibility of an engagement let alone an actual engagement now. He left his seat and walked toward Tristan and Serenity but he didn't shout at them, in fact, he did the complete opposite. Instead he just pulled Serenity into a hug…

"Congratulations Serenity, I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you big brother" she whispered into his ear as she tightened his hug

When she let go, Joey shook Tristan's hand and drew him into a quick hug, "congratulations man…who'd have thought that my best friend would end up being my brother in law! Just one thing though," he whispered, "If you hurt her, you'll be sorry"

"Will do man, but you can guarantee it won't come to that!" smiled Tristan

"Good! Well congratulations again then!" said Joey as he returned to his seat

"How come you didn't flip out this time?" asked Mai

"Because you're right, I've finally realised that she's not a little girl anymore and besides, look at her," both Mai and Joey look at Tristan and Serenity now, "she's happier than I've ever seen her and if she's happy that she's with Tristan, then so am I" and he just smiled at Mai who returned his smile as there was nothing more to be said.

The room was then silenced once again by Yugi as he tapped his glass with his spoon, "I'd like to make a toast to Tristan and Serenity to congratulate on their engagement and to wish them a very happy life together. So if you all raise your glasses…to Tristan and Serenity!"

"Tristan and Serenity" echoed everyone as they all took a drink

"Thank you Yugi, that was sweet!" said Serenity as Tristan kissed her cheek returned to his seat

"Can we eat now?" complained Seto

"Go ahead, I'm not stopping you!" said Tristan as he sat down

Everyone began to eat and conversation was buzzing around the wedding and everyone seemed to be excited for them, everyone except for the two at either end who didn't say very much that night. Duke looked like he was utter shock as if he was just told that his best friend had died and Téa, well, she just looked like she hadn't heard anything and sat with a blank face, although whenever anyone spoke to her, she forced out a weak smile.

Of course, Mina wasn't exactly gonna lose her bet without first finding out if anything else needed to be announced that night…

"Ummm, Serenity, I meant to ask you, are you feeling ok now?"

"Why shouldn't I be ok?" asked a very puzzled Serenity

"It's just that last week, when you were off sick, you said you had a sore stomach…but you're looking better now and you were the other night as well…but I was wandering, since you're drinking water and most of us are having champagne if you're…" stuttered Mina before she was cut off by Seto…

"How did you win an Oscar with stuttering like that?" smirked Seto

"Shut, up! You're just jealous…"

"Serenity, she wants to know if you're pregnant," stated Seto in a very direct manner

Again the room went silent and all eyes were on Serenity including Tristan, Duke and Téa

"I'm not pregnant! The thing with the sore stomach was a monthly problem and as you're a fellow woman Mina, I'm sure you'll understand and the reason I'm not drinking champagne is because I just don't like it and I'm not drinking the lemonade because I just don't want any and because that bottle is for Mokuba! Trust me…I'm not pregnant!" quickly replied Serenity

The room was still silent, but the silence was quickly broken by the sound of Mai clearing her throat to get Mina's attention…

"Are you happy now? It looks like I won" smiled Mai across the table

"Well guessed Mai…very well played" smiled Mina in return, "Well a deal's a deal…Mokuba, give her the money"

Mokuba reached into his pocket, pulled out the money and stretched across the table to give it to Mai

"Well done Mai, you got one up on not only my big sister, but also my brother…very well done!" beamed Mokuba

"Put it there" said Mina as she stretched over and shook Mai's hand "as Mokie already said, very well done…isn't that right **Seto**" she said while elbowing him in the ribs

"Yes…excellent work, I'm so thrilled for you!" [a/n: he's so sarcastic isn't he?]

"I'm guessing you're not gonna tell us what that was about?" asked Tristan

"Not really…no" replied Mina

"Fair enough" stated Tristan as he got back to his dinner

Duke was the first one finished his dinner and it wasn't too long before he got up to leave the table…

"I'm going for a smoke, If you need me, I'll be on the porch" mumbled Duke as he walked off

"Did he say a smoke?" asked Mokuba

"That's what I heard… since when does Duke smoke?" also asked Ryou

"I didn't know he did," replied Yugi

Mina watched him as he got up and watched him go out the door. No sooner had he left, she also got up…

"Where are you going?" asked Seto

"I'll be back in a minute," said Mina as she also headed out the front door to talk to Duke

"Who's…oh, hi Mina…is there something wrong?" asked Duke

"Not with me, but it's obvious there is with you"

"What makes you say that?"

"You've been looking miserable all night and it's getting depressing now!" replied Mina

"Well, I didn't exactly hear brilliant news tonight!" said Duke as his eyes watered up

"You're going to have to let Serenity go at some point you know. Face it Duke, she doesn't want you, she wants Tristan and the sooner you realise that, the better, or it's going to drive you mad!"

"What makes you think that I still want Serenity, I could have heard bad news before I came here and it's just been on my mind," remarked Duke

"It doesn't take a good actor to tell a bad one so I know you're lying to me Duke. And I'm not the only one who's noticed. It's been almost 5 years since you and Serenity broke up and you still haven't gotten over it because somewhere in the back of your mind you always believed that it would go wrong and she would go straight back to you! Well guess what, she's not going back to you. She and Tristan are serious and are about to get married so you need to get it through your head that you can't get her back before it drives you nuts!" shouted Mina

"I know that I can't get her back, but I just never wanted to believe that there would never be another chance. I was young and stupid at the time and I shouldn't have let her go. If they were still just 'together' then there was a chance that they would break up and she would come back to me and…" cut off by Mina

"Don't give me that shit! I don't know what else to say to you other than let it go, you need to get out. There are lots of girls out there who'd be happy to go out with you, hell, I'll even go out on a date with you if it means seeing a smile on your face!"

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass…you know, of all people, I thought that you would understand how I feel"

"Why do you say that?" asked Mina

"Doesn't it bother you that Tristan is marrying Serenity?"

"Listen to me Duke, Tristan and I broke up a few months before you and Serenity did, we only went out on five dates, I didn't sleep with him and I only kissed him in public once for the cameras. He and I weren't meant for each other and thankfully we discovered that early on before we got to a point where we hated each other. Tristan and I are just friends now and I don't have feelings of any kind for him anymore, although I won't deny that I think he's good looking!"

Duke just laughed

"Let me finish, by ending when we did, we saved our friendship and you're damaging your friendship with Tristan and Serenity by getting on the way you are. I let go of Tristan 5 years ago and kept him out of my life in that respect and I couldn't be happier for them as they **are** made for each other. And I think it's about time that you did too. Face it Duke, the two of you weren't meant to be together and you never will…just let her go," said Mina more softly than before

There was silence between them for a few moments as Duke just stared down the street with his cigarette in his mouth until he smiled and looked back at Mina

"You're right Mina…if Serenity is happy, then I'm happy for her" smiled Duke

"That's better…do you want to back inside before Joey eats our dessert?" laughed Mina

"Sure, why not!" smiled Duke as he threw the cigarette down the drain

Mina and Duke went back into the house and enjoyed the rest of the night with others not knowing the darkness which lay in front of them…

Well that's chapter 2. It turned out longer than I thought but most of it should be relevant for later if I stick to my original draft.

Please Please Please remember to review, I accept flames and constructive criticism and it would be greatly appreciated, thank you :-)

Yami Deoki: look out for the next chapter, I've already written half of it and I get to kill the first person (evil laugh) so you can guess if you want

Deoki: just note that she's evil and mean especially with what she does to someone in a later chapter

Yami deoki: shut up! You wanted a murder mystery and you're gonna get a murder mystery! And don't worry; I'll keep to your stupid little romances just so that you don't annoy me!

Deoki: whatever just hurry up and finish the chapter!


	3. Shots and Shocks

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh but I do own Mina.

I've just finished all three of my maths exams and am thoroughly depressed now (_why did I do maths A level?_) anyway I think we should just get on with the story

Yami deoki: it's about time **I** got to write! There's no 'we' about it!

Deoki: don't forget, I'll be watching, so don't go over board!

Yami deoki: never worry my dear hikari, I'll keep to your plot line…I'm just adding a few twists to it which I'm sure even you won't see coming!

Deoki: hmmm….

Yami deoki: just one more thing, thank you to **kaibas child**, **Chrikaru** and **LuQ Warm Soup **for your reviews…no I'm not completely evil, I do appreciate your reviews and find them very helpful, so I'll not keep you waiting any longer…

Twisted Deceit

… … …

Chapter 3 – Shots and Shocks

No one could have asked for a better day in Domino. The sun was shining and it was recorded as one of the hottest days of the year. It was the perfect day for the gang to go out in. Of course the whole gang weren't going anywhere together. The guys and girls had decided to split up for the day. Even though it had only been a week since the announcement of Tristan and Serenity's engagement, Mina and Mai decided that Serenity should start looking for her wedding dress (plus it was an excuse for them to go shopping) therefore all the girls decided to meet up for lunch and then go shopping around town. However Ishizu wasn't able to go as she was once again stuck in work. As most of her colleagues were out on sick, she and the remaining few in the office had to pull extra shifts to cover for everyone.

The guys on the other hand, decided to go to Kaiba land and spend most of the day duelling to work themselves up for going out that night for, "the first of many bachelor parties" in Joey's words. However, Joey had to meet the guys later as he and Mai had to go to the hospital for one last scan as the baby was due in 6 days. The plan therefore was that Mina, Téa and Serenity were going to meet Mai at the café in the Domino mall at about 12 o'clock after her appointment and Joey was going to meet the guys at Kaiba Land.

At the Kaiba mansion…

Mina and Mokuba were in the dining room, when the door bell rang. The butler Sam went to let the guest in…

"Miss Wheeler is here to see you Miss Kaiba"

"Oh thanks Sam, send her in" replied Mina

"I'm not disturbing you am I?" asked Serenity

"Not at all, we were just having breakfast…would you like to join us?"

"Just a cup of tea please" smiled Serenity

Mokuba poured Serenity a cup of tea, as she noticed there were only two Kaiba's at the table

"Where's Seto?" enquired Serenity "I thought he was also going out with the guys today"

"He's away to the office to finish up some paperwork before he meets them…he's done nothing but complain, but I know he really wants to go. Anyway, how come you're here? Is Tristan away already?" asked Mina

"Yeah, he got called into work; there were some problems so he had to go in this morning to sort it out. He was still in the house when I left…he was getting ready to go, I hope you don't mind that I came over."

"No that's not a problem; you can stay here until we go. We can meet Mai and Téa together" smiled Mina as she looked at the clock and noted the time as 9:35am

Serenity stayed with Mina and Mokuba in the dining room talking about what they were going to do that day until they heard the doorbell ring again.

"Who could that be?" enquired Mokuba, "We're not expecting anybody are we?"

"I don't think so" replied Mina

Sam went again to open the door to find someone they didn't expect to see…

"Mr Taylor is here to see you Miss Kaiba"

"Thank you Sam, please show him in" she turns to Serenity "I thought he was at work?"

"I thought he was too" replied Serenity in a surprised tone

"Hey guys!" announced Tristan as he kissed Serenity and sat down beside her

"What are you doing here? I thought you were at work!"

"I was but then Kaiba himself came down to the lab and told us all we could go, and that the problem was sorted. As annoying as he is, I must say, he's a different guy at work, as he's slightly nicer to us" commented Tristan

"What was the problem?" asked Mokuba

"There was something wrong with the software of the latest game we're working on, but it's fine for now. We found a temporary solution and Seto told us to leave it until Monday so that we could have the weekend off and enjoy the rest of our Saturday, besides we couldn't do much without Joey since this is his area of expertise…speaking of which" Tristan turns round and looks at the clock on the wall and notices that its 10:45am "Wasn't Mai's appointment for 10:30?"

"Yeah" replied Mina

"Oh well, it doesn't matter, I'll tell him later…I'd better get going to get ready and meet the guys. Yugi, Duke and Ryou are already there so I'd better go meet them after I leave my stuff home, see you later"

"Hey Tristan wait!" called Mokuba "will you give me a ride to Kaiba land on your way home please?"

"Sure lets go" he turns back to Serenity "and I'll see you later my love" [a/n: do you know how painful that was to write? Deoki: just shut up and get on with it!]

Mina and Mokuba just rolled their eyes at each other and shook their heads as Tristan kissed Serenity good bye

"You're very lucky to have such a sweet guy like him Serenity" smiled Mina

"I know…" sighed Serenity

Outside Kaiba Land…

"Thanks for the lift Tristan"

"Any time Mokuba! I shouldn't be too long, hopefully I'll be back in about 20 minutes…see you then" called Tristan

"See you then!" shouted Mokuba as he ran off to go in the back and up into his brother's office

Tristan continued on to go home. He was as happy as he was ever going to be; after all he had a good job, a good home and the best fiancée anyone could ask for. He was so happy that he even ignored the shouting from the people as he was singing at the top of lungs to a random song on the radio.

After about 10 minutes of driving, he finally got home. However, when he put the key in the door, he noticed that it was already open. When he went into the house, he could hear whimpering coming from upstairs so naturally he decided to investigate. When Tristan got to the top of the stairs the sound of the whimpering got louder and appeared to be coming from his room so he entered it…

"What the hell are you doing!" shouted Tristan, but it was too late to do anything now…

… … …

Meanwhile, across town at the Domino Maternity Hospital…

"That's us finished Mrs Wheeler. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong so we'll see you again very soon. Even though you are due in 6 days, you could go into labour before or after that, it depends when the baby wants to be born" smiled the nurse "are you sure you don't want to know the sex of the baby?"

"No, we've waited this long, I'm sure another week or two won't hurt us" laughed Mai

"Is that everything? Can we go now?" asked Joey

"Yes we're finished now so I'll see you again when you come back"

Joey and Mai left the hospital and drove through town towards the Domino Mall. It was about 11:40 when they left the hospital as Mai was to meet the other girls at about 12. Joey pulled up in front of the mall just before 12 and helped Mai out of the car and accompanied her into the café in the mall to meet Mina and Serenity who were already there

"Where's Téa? Shouldn't she be here by now?" asked Mai

"Yeah we've been here for the past 20 minutes and she still hasn't arrived. I phoned her last night to make sure she remembered where to go and she seemed ok with it… knowing her she's chatting up some guy" remarked Mina "by the way, have either of you seen Tristan?"

"No, why what's wrong?" asked Joey

"Mokuba phoned Mina's mobile to tell us that Tristan still hadn't arrived at Kaiba land given that he told Mokuba that he'd be straight back after he went home, and that was about an hour ago!" added Serenity sounding very concerned

"Well I can check to see if he's still at your house on my to Kaiba Land, I'm sure it's nothing…don't get so worked up sis, I'll find him" smiled Joey

"Thank you Joey"

"Well I think I should get going and leave you lovely ladies to your shopping" said Joey as he kissed Mai goodbye

"There must be something in the water" Mina muttered under her breath

"What'd you say rich girl!"

"Shouldn't you be running along with your 'little' friends?" smirked Mina

"You can't half tell whose sister you are! You're like him in every way!" remarked Joey

"Oh I'm heartbroken, wouldn't it be a better use of your time to find Tristan?" replied Mina sarcastically

"Whatever rich girl… see ya round!" shouted Joey as he left the mall

"You really know how to wind him up you know that Mina?" commented Mai

"I know…it's funny to watch, but he knows I don't really mean it" said Mina looking smug with herself

"I hope Tristan's alright" added Serenity sounding worried

"Don't worry" replied Mai, "he probably just got caught up with something on TV…come to think of it, if he did, it's not a good idea to send Joey to find him or they'll never leave!"

"Oh who cares! We're having a **girl's** day out, so if the guys ruin their own day, it's their own fault!" remarked Mina

"I agree" chimed Mai and Serenity as they all toasted their drinks in the air, "and we can get started when Téa finally arrives" Serenity added

… … …

Joey continued travelling through town until he reached the street where Tristan and Serenity lived. When he arrived he saw the street was blocked off and the police were everywhere. As he got closer he realised that the house the police were in was Tristan's…

_"Oh shit! What the hell happened here!?" _Joey shouted into himself as he got out of his car

"I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to move your car and leave, this is a crime scene" said the nearest police officer

"But this is my sister's house! I have a right to know what's goin' on!" shouted Joey

Before the police officer could say anything else, he was interrupted by a very familiar face…

"It's alright Allen, I can deal with him"

"Ishizu what's goin on 'ere!?" angrily shouted Joey

"Joey… I have something to tell you... you may want to sit down for this" began Ishizu before Joey cut her off

"Never mind sitting down! Just tell me **NOW!**" he shouted

"Ok… here goes…" began Ishizu

Ishizu began to tell Joey everything that she was told had happened and why and when they were called out. Nothing could have prepared Joey for what he was hearing and his emotions were changing faster than he could keep up with…

"What the…I don't know what to… who did it?!"

"We don't know yet, we're still investigating…I've already told immediate family, do you want to tell the others or should I? asked Ishizu

"No…I'll tell them" solemnly replied Joey

"I'm going to need you and everyone to go to the police station so could you contact them?" asked Ishizu

"Yeah, I'll phone Mina, she's got her phone with her and also Seto, he can tell the other guys to meet there"

Joey seemed to be in total shock, he couldn't cry but he could barely comprehend what was going on around him. This was going to be the most difficult phone call he was ever going to have to make…

… … …

Across town at the Domino mall…

"Where's Téa already? She should have been here ages ago!" moaned Serenity

"I know! Where does she get off standing us up like this!" complained Mai

"Exactly! I've heard of being late, but this is ridiculous!" whinged Mina as her phone rang

"That's probably her now telling us she's late because she was with some guy she just met!" Mai sniggered

"It's from Joey actually…hello?"

"Mina, I need you and the girls to come to the police station ASAP" mumbled Joey

"Why what's…" replied Mina before Joey cut her off

Mina turned paler the more Joey spoke down the phone, it was obvious she wanted to cry, but when she noticed Serenity looking worried at her out of the corner of her eye, she managed to hold back the tears gathering around her eyes…

"When you get here, you'll be told the whole story, don't tell Serenity… I have to tell her myself, and don't worry about Seto, I'm gonna call him at his office and he can tell the other guys"

"Ok…thanks Joey, we'll see you there…bye" and Mina hung up the phone

"What's wrong" enquired Mai

"We have to go to the police station…now" replied Mina

"Why, what's wrong?" asked Serenity "tell me Mina!"

"Joey will explain when we get there"

"You know something Mina; I know you do…that's why you look upset! Please tell me!" begged Serenity

"Joey told me not to, he wants to tell you himself, now come on, we have to go…I'll drive, but please don't ask me anything else"

"What about Téa?" asked Mai

Mina didn't reply and continued to walk to the car park with a worried Serenity and puzzled Mai closely following…

… … …

Meanwhile in Kaiba Land…

Seto was still at his desk and was packing away his stuff to meet the other guys after being bugged by Mokuba for the past hour and no doubt he would be back up to his office to get him to come down again. Just as he was about to leave his office, the phone rang…

"_I really should be getting downstairs, but since it's on the private line it's either business or Mina" _thought Kaiba before he answered

"Kaiba here…Wheeler! How dare you! You'd better have a good reason for using my private line…" rambled Seto before being cut off by Joey

"Listen rich boy, just shut your mouth for once and listen to me…"

Kaiba listened to what Joey was telling him and even he seemed to be showing emotion over the news…

"Oh my God…" was all Kaiba could say

"Do you understand, I need you to get all the guys together and go straight to the police station…ok"

"Certainly, we'll be there as soon as we can" and he hung up the phone and dialled another number "Rowland, prepare my limo, I have to leave soon"

"Right away Mister Kaiba!"

Seto went over to the panel on the wall which was the intercom to talk to various parts of the building; he pushed the button and addressed Kaiba land

"Would Mokuba Kaiba, Yugi Moto, Duke Devlin and Ryou Bakura please report to my office **immediately**, this is important, I repeat, would Mokuba, Yugi, Duke and Ryou please report to my office at once!"

"I wonder what's wrong with him…he didn't sound like his normal self" commented Yugi

"I don't know, but we should go see what he wants" added Duke

The guys left the duelling arena and headed over to the lifts to go to Seto's office. The ride to the top of the Kaiba Corp building seemed to be longer than usual…this was the first time Kaiba had ever summoned any of them to his office; it was usually his sanctuary away from them, so it must be serious if he was calling them all up to it. Eventually after what seemed liked an eternity; the guys were outside Seto's office…

"Mokuba you go first" Ryou said rather timidly

"Why should I go first!?"

"You're his brother, so if something's wrong, he's not as likely to take it out on you as he would on us" added Duke

"I've got to go with Duke on this one Mokuba, it would be better for you to go first" commented Yugi

"But…." before Mokuba could say anything else he was cut off

"You're all a bunch of cowards! Who in their right mind would be afraid of Seto Kaiba!" shouted Ryou, only it wasn't Ryou anymore, as Bakura had now taken over, "I knew you lot were pathetic, but come on! And you Pharaoh, I thought you had more balls than that!"

Yugi: _ignore him Yami…don't you dare fight with him, not now_

Yami: _but Yugi…he's asking for it!_

Yugi: _I don't care! Just don't!_

Bakura was very easily bored by the whole argument and just barged on into Kaiba's office.

"Alright your highness, what do you want?" barked Bakura

"Don't you talk to me like that you pathetic Yami; at least I don't need to steal someone else's body to survive!" snapped Kaiba

"Never mind him Seto" said Mokuba as he stood between the two of them, "what's the problem? Your message sounded urgent!"

"It is…we must leave for the police station immediately. My limo is waiting to take us. When we get there, Joey…"

"Joey…must be serious if he's using Joey's first name" smirked Duke to Yugi

"Listen dice boy, a crime has been committed and if you don't want to know then just piss off now! And don't ever interrupt me again!" scowled Kaiba

"What sort of crime?" asked Ryou who was in control again

"Murder" answered Kaiba in an almost emotionless tone as he walked towards the door

"Who's been murdered?" asked Yugi in a worried and puzzled manner

Kaiba was silent for a few seconds and then turned back to face the guys in his office…

Tristan…

Ooooooohhhh looks like Tristan got it, poor thing, I almost feel sorry for him…ah well…but where has Téa been in all of this you ask? Well that is an evil little twist which I threw in and you'll find out in the next chapter entitled Aftershocks and Alibis.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to review or you'll make deoki cry

Deoki: hey! Leave me alone! You are so cruel…I read what you are doing next and you are so mean!

Yami deoki: I know, but I can't help it if I have an evil streak! The question now remains…who did it?

PS: sorry I haven't updated in a while, even with the other stories I'm reading, but my computer's been buggered up so I couldn't keep it on for long, but I have a new motherboard now so it works fine again…yey!


	4. Aftershocks and Alibis

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, why would you think that!? I do however own Mina

Here we are yet another day, not feeling too bad as my technology exam was fine, just have to do physics next week and I'm free…

Yami deoki: oh will you give over! I have to write the next chapter while it's still fresh in my head!

Deoki: don't you insult me! And what you're doing in this chapter is horrible!

Yami deoki: I know…it's great isn't it?

Deoki: whatever, just don't mess up

Yami deoki: no need to worry about that…once again I'd like to say thank you to **HieiJaganshiAlways** for your review, it was very much appreciated and I'll update as soon as I can. Enjoy

Twisted Deceit

… … …

Chapter 4 – Aftershocks and Alibis

The journey to the police station was a quiet one for everybody. The guys in the limo were in a complete state of shock and disbelief, they didn't want it to be true, there had to be something wrong with what Joey said. At least they actually knew something unlike the girls. Mina just drove silently and tried to fight back the tears gathering around her eyes, even she was trying to convince herself that it couldn't be true, even about how Téa was involved, that was just as big a shock. Serenity was nearly in a state of panic on the backseat while Mai was trying to calm her down. The girls were closer to the police station than the guys and therefore arrived first and nothing could have prepared them for what they were about to face…

Mina got out of the car first and went to get Serenity out of the back

"Something's happened to Tristan hasn't it? Tell me!" cried Serenity

"Joey's inside with Ishizu, they're going to tell us everything, please calm down!"

Mina had linked her arm with Serenity on the left and Mai did the same on the right and they all walked into the station together. When they entered the main lobby Joey was waiting for them on a chair in the corner. When Serenity saw him, she threw herself on him and sobbed into his chest

"Oh Joey what's happened? It's Tristan isn't it!" shouted Serenity

"I'm afraid so…did you tell them?" he asked Mina

Mina didn't answer and just shook her head

"I think you two should sit down or something"

"What happened to him?" asked Mai as she sat down beside Serenity

"When I drove over to your place today to see if Tristan was home, I saw Ishizu outside it with a load of officers and they told me that they were called out by your neighbour who thought she heard gun shots…and of course when they went out…" Joey could barely continue, the anger and sadness in his voice was almost overwhelming, but he somehow managed to continue, "When they went out and into the house…they found Tristan lying in your bedroom…dead with 2 bullet wounds in his chest"

Time almost seemed to stop for Serenity; it was almost as if she had stopped moving. Serenity sat for a few seconds without realising what was happening, but her emotions quickly caught up with her and she broke down in Joey's arms. Even Mai couldn't help but cry, but Mina still somehow found the strength to fight her own tears, every ounce of acting talent she had was being put to the test to not let herself break down. She always believed in being the strong one, it was natural to her; after all, she did grow up with Seto.

"There's something else…"

Mina cut Joey off, "she doesn't need to know that right now until we know all the facts…speaking of which, where's Ishizu?"

"I'm right here. I know that this isn't exactly a good day out, but unfortunately this investigation has to be carried out"

"I know…Ishizu, can I speak to you for a moment…**alone**?" asked Mina

"Of course"

Mina followed Ishizu into the next corridor to find out more about what happened

"Is it true what Joey said about Téa?"

"It depends on what it was that Joey told you" answered Ishizu

"He never said much, but he said enough for me understand the situation…"

Mina continued talking to Ishizu about what she had been told by Joey, and Ishizu confirmed her suspicions. Mina now appeared to be angrier than she was upset; however, she didn't get a chance to say anything more as the sound of voices in the lobby got louder indicating that the rest of the guys had just arrived. Mina and Ishizu left the corridor as she had to address everyone together.

"Everyone please listen!" everyone turned around to look at Ishizu, "this lobby isn't exactly ideal to discuss the situation, therefore could you all follow me to the waiting room; it'll be big enough for everyone"

Everyone followed Ishizu to the waiting room, by this stage Mina had joined the others and now had her arm around Mokuba as it was obvious that even he took the news of Tristan's death very hard.

When everyone entered the room, they noticed that it was set up with various drinks and snacks on the table

"I've left you some things to eat and drink as you may be here for a while, but if you want anything else, there are vending machines at the end of the hall and I must ask you not to leave the building" announced Ishizu

Joey sat down next to Serenity with her head resting on his shoulder and an arm wrapped around her, while he held Mai's hand with the other. Yugi and Duke sat opposite them while Ryou was preoccupied with making a cup of tea. Seto and Mina however didn't sit down; Seto leaned against the wall in his usual manner with his arms folded while Mina leaned against the wall beside him with her arms wrapped around Mokuba.

"I'm sure you're all aware as to why you're here. I know this is going to be hard on all of you, even I'm trying my best to stay focused on my work, after all, Tristan was a very good friend to all of us…"

"Maybe not as good as we all thought" Mina muttered under her breath

"What?" asked Seto

"Never mind…you'll find out later"

Ishizu continued, "All we are going to be doing today is taking a statement from all of you, that's all"

"Why?" asked Ryou

"Because they think that one of us did it and they're going to compare stories to see if anyone is lying, they may even ask for a motive" remarked Seto

"What's wrong Kaiba, think they're gonna find you out? Everyone knows that you and Tristan didn't exactly see eye to eye" smirked Duke

"Keep your opinions to yourself dice boy! Or I'll see to it that you lose an eye!"

"Is that a threat rich boy?"

"Would you like it to be?"

"Alright that's enough!!!" shouted Ishizu, "remember that you're in a police station and if you don't calm down I'll throw you both in a cell for the night!"

Seto and Duke didn't say anything else; they just gave each other an evil stare and then looked away again.

"Allen will be here if you need anything and you'll be questioned by myself and **my boss**…so please behave yourself when we're taking your statement!" pleaded Ishizu as she looked between Duke and Seto, "You'll be seen in alphabetical order, so Ryou, you're first…come with me please"

Ryou slowly got up from his seat and walked toward the door.

"Don't look so worried, this isn't an interrogation, I'll be right there" Ishizu softly said as she smiled at him

"Before you go, Ishizu" interrupted Yugi, "I couldn't help but notice that Téa isn't here with us, why is that?"

"She is here in the building, she was here before all of you were and we already spoke to her. At the moment she is still talking with one of our counsellors…"

"Will she be joining us?" continued Yugi

"Given the current circumstances…it's not likely. Let's just say that it could make a bad situation worse"

"That's an understatement" commented Mina

"Ishizu's right Mina, don't bring that up, let's just deal with one thing at a time…" Joey started

She cut him off, "but that could affect motive…especially if someone knew… and you wanted to tell her earlier" remarked Mina as she raised an eyebrow

"And if I'm not too much mistaken, you stopped me! And just what are you implying?"

"I didn't imply anything. I merely pointed out that anyone could have used this situation to their own advantage"

"DON'T YOU PEOPLE EVER GIVE IT A REST!" cried Serenity, "TRISTAN'S BEEN MURDERED FOR GOD SAKE AND ALL YOU LOT WORRY ABOUT IS YOUR STUPID LITTLE CONSPIRACIES!" she shouted as she ran out the door and into the bathroom

"I'll go and get her, I have to go to the toilet anyway; but you two had better calm down before I bring her back!" scolded Mai

"You're right, we're all just uptight at the moment, I'm sorry" apologised Mina

"And I'm sorry too, it was just a very unexpected thing to hear right now" stated Joey as he hugged Mina

"That's more like it" Mai remarked, "You can argue all you want elsewhere, just not in front of Serenity. Remember, she's just lost the one person she loved more than anything! And if you two can't drop your petty differences for more than five minutes to give a shit about anyone else, you can piss off now!" and Mai walked out to retrieve Serenity

Everyone in the room now went silent as there was nothing left to say. Joey returned to his seat and Mina continued leaning on the wall with her arms around Mokuba and leaning her head on Seto's shoulder, she looked as if she wanted to burst into tears, but she still somehow managed to stay in control. Ishizu then left the room with Ryou following close behind and lead him down to a door at the end of the corridor. Not long after Ishizu and Ryou left, Mai returned with Serenity.

"Serenity…I'm sorry for acting like a total bitch, I can only imagine the pain you're going through and I shouldn't have been so insensitive…can you forgive me?" Mina pleaded

"Of course I can…thank you" replied Serenity as she hugged Mina

"I'm sorry too sis, I shouldn't have been such a jerk"

"That's ok big brother, I forgive you" she said as she kissed his cheek and sat back down beside him.

Almost an eternity seemed to pass as they waited to give their statements, tension and disbelief was running riot in the room. In actual fact only fifteen minutes passed before Ryou returned.

"Ok Duke, it's your turn" announced Ishizu when she returned

Ryou returned back to his seat next to Yugi, it was obvious that he had been crying and he just put his head down on the table as Duke got up and followed Ishizu out of the room.

"How…how was it?" Mokuba managed to squeak out

"It was ok, they only asked questions about where I was all morning and around the time of death and how long I'd known Tristan and stuff like that. They also asked me about Téa and let's just say that I didn't see that one coming" answered Ryou in between his sniffles

"Me neither" replied Joey and Mina in unison

Although there was a TV in the room, no one was watching it. They just seemed to be in a daze and stood about until they were called to take their statement. After another fifteen to twenty minutes Duke and Ishizu returned. Duke just looked completely spaced out and sat back down without saying a word to anybody.

"As we've already spoken to Téa, it's your turn Mina"

"You're gonna have to let go sweetie, but don't worry, I'll be back soon" Mina softly whispered to Mokuba as he slowly let her go. "Let's get this over with so that we don't have to sit around here any longer than we have to" Mina commented to Ishizu

Mina then left the room with Ishizu and followed her to the interview room [or interrogation room, whichever you prefer]. Mokuba leaned against the wall were Mina was standing and it wasn't long before he felt a hand on his shoulder

"Hey kiddo, don't worry, you'll be alright, they'll get whoever did this…it won't bring him back, but at least justice will be served" Seto spoke softly to Mokuba

"You haven't called me kiddo in quite a while"

Seto just gave Mokuba a weak smile

"It's just hard to believe that he's gone, I mean I was just talking to him in the car a few hours ago and now he's…" Mokuba couldn't even finish his sentence; he just buried his head in Seto's chest "It's not fair! It's NOT!!" he cried

"I know" said Seto as he put his arm around Mokuba "since when is anything in life fair?"

"_wow, I never realised Kaiba had emotions_" Duke thought to himself "_maybe I should…_" he stopped himself from saying anything when he saw the threatening look in Yugi's eyes which told him to drop it

After another while of waiting around, Mina returned and Mokuba was summoned to be interviewed. Mina looked even angrier than she did before she went in. Just when Mokuba had left, a woman could be seen walking down the corridor who Yugi instantly recognised as Téa. He ran out of the room and called her back

"Téa! Where are you going?" he shouted

"There are a few more people they want me to talk to…" but before she could continue, it wasn't too long before Mina was in the corridor

"So here you are…bitch!" shouted Mina

Upon hearing this, Duke, Ryou and Seto were now poking their heads out the door to see what was going on

"And how exactly am I a bitch!?" Téa shouted back through her tears

"You know exactly how you little slut…"

"I don't have to take this shit from you Mina!"

"And here I was thinking you were Serenity's best friend!" shouted back Mina as she slapped Téa across the face [a/n: go me, I had to put that in there, I hate Téa]

"All right ladies, break it up!" shouted Officer Allen as he entered the corridor and split them up

"Whatever" smirked Mina as she turned in the opposite direction "she's not worth my time" she stated as she walked off towards the lobby

Téa was escorted down the corridor and into another room by Officer Allen while the guys were left wondering why Mina had just slapped her

"What was that all about?" asked Yugi

"It must be because of where Téa was when Tristan was killed" replied Duke

"Why, was she somewhere she shouldn't have been?" enquired Seto

"You could say that" Ryou remarked

"I'd better go and check on Mina" Seto stated as he walked off toward the lobby after her…

When he got to the lobby, he saw Mina standing with her arms folded staring out the door

"Hey"

"Oh…Seto, it's just you"

Seto came and stood beside her and also looked out the front door

"So are you gonna tell me why you're so angry with Téa?" asked Seto

Mina turned her head briefly to look at Seto, but turned back to stare out the door again

"When the police got to Tristan's house, they went up to the bedroom to find not just Tristan in the room…Téa was there as well and let's say that she wasn't wearing very much"

"She didn't do it, did she?"

"They don't think so, because she was tied up with black tape…"

Seto cut her off, "what was she doing at the house?"

"It's why she was there is what's got me so mad!" Mina put her head in her hand "to put it simply, Tristan was…was…cheating on Serenity…with Téa"

"WHAT!" exclaimed Seto "But we were all at their house last week hearing how much they loved each other and were getting married! And you're telling me he was secretly cheating on her!"

"Apparently, Téa arrived this morning not long after Serenity had left to go to our place. But because Tristan was called into work this morning, they didn't exactly have much time together, so she waited in the house until he came back so that they could…well; let's just say that they weren't exactly talking. She said she heard the door open and I don't know what happened next, but she said when she went into the hall, she was grabbed from behind and passed out or something 'cause when she regained consciousness, she had black tape on her eyes, mouth and her hands were taped up behind her back. Apparently she heard Tristan come in and confront the person, but when she heard the gun shots…well you know the rest"

Mina lifted her head and exhaled deeply as a surge of anger and sorrow washed over her

"And you know what's worse!?" Mina began to cry "he's not even here for me to be angry at! I'm upset because a very good friend was murdered…but then you hear that this friend was betraying the one he was supposed to love! It makes me so angry that I just wanna…just wanna…"

Mina was about to slam her head into her hands again, but got caught up in Seto's tight embrace. She cried and slammed her fist into his chest; she couldn't bottle up her emotions anymore and even Seto seemed to have a tear gathering in his eye. Mina never let herself break down in front of anyone, but with Seto it was different, he was the only one that she had ever shown her true emotions to. Even when they were kids in the orphanage she never cried in front of anyone except him

"You're gonna be alright…you know I'm always here for you" he whispered in her ear

"I know…what would I ever do without you?" she replied

Meanwhile back in the waiting room…

"What's got Mina so angry with Téa?" Yugi asked again

"She has her reasons" replied Joey

"She's probably just jealous because he chose Téa instead of her!" smirked Bakura who decided to come out

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yugi was looking puzzled

"It means he's going to shut his face and let Ryou out again" barked Joey

"Don't start again" implored Mai

"I agree with Joey, why don't you go back inside your ring?"

"And why don't you go back inside your puzzle pharaoh!"

"And why don't you both shut up before I lock you up!" shouted Ishizu as she entered the room with Mokuba, who was crying again as the tears were still rolling down his cheeks

"Where's Seto?" she asked

"He's in the lobby with Mina…she got upset after her argument with Téa and he went after her" Mai replied

"Téa was here?"

"Yeah, she walked past and Mina decided to go out and give her a piece of her mind" answered Joey

"I should have known…I'll be back later, Yugi, you're next after Seto" Ishizu said as she walked out back towards the lobby

"Seto, it's your turn" she said when she saw the two of them in the lobby

Seto let go of Mina and wiped away a tear from her eye using his index finger

"Will you be alright?" he asked her

"I'll be fine, Mokuba would be back by now so I'd better make sure he's alright" she answered as she wiped her own eyes

"You know Mina, it's ok to cry once in a while…you shouldn't keep putting everyone else's problems on your shoulders before dealing with your own" commented Ishizu

"I appreciate your concern Ishizu…but I'll be ok…it's Serenity who's really gonna lose it when she hears about Tristan and Téa"

"Well…just take it easy" smiled Ishizu "If you ever need to talk, you know where I am"

"Thanks Ishizu" replied Mina and she hugged her before going back to the waiting room

"Well Seto are you ready?" Ishizu asked

"Let's get this over with" he remarked and he followed Ishizu to the interview room

Mina returned to the waiting room and saw Mokuba sitting with his head on the table. She sat down beside him and he put his head on her shoulder.

"I guess you've calmed down now" commented Duke

"For now" was her reply

"For what it's worth Mina" Joey said as she turned to look at him, "I was thinking about doing the same thing, but I don't like to hit women so…" and he gave her a very weak smile

Mina didn't say anything but returned the smile and nodded her head in understanding. When Seto returned, Yugi was called up followed by Mai and lastly Serenity as they had already spoken to Joey before everyone arrived. However, Serenity broke down during the interview and Ishizu returned to get Joey so that he could sit with her for the rest of it.

At long last, the questioning was over and Joey, Serenity and Ishizu returned to the waiting room…

"I have to say thank you for coming today to let us get these statements…I know it's been hard on all of you, Tristan was my friend too and it won't be easy on anyone. You're all free to go home now, but for now I must ask you not to leave the city, we're not accusing anyone, it's just that we need to keep in contact with everyone involved"

"Thank you Ishizu…I can give the three of you a lift if you like" Mina said looking at Yugi, Duke and Ryou

"That would be great…thanks" replied Ryou

"I'm gonna take Serenity home with us…it would be better if she stayed with us for a few nights" stated Joey

"Then I guess that leaves just us Mokuba…we can go straight home" added Seto

"What about Téa? Is she going now too?" asked Yugi

"No, we still have a few things to clear up with her, so we'll send an officer to take her home" replied Ishizu

"Besides…I'm not ready to let her back into my car" Mina mumbled

"Speaking of which, it would be better if you left via the back exit rather than the front" stated Ishizu

"Why?"

"There's photographers and reporters out the front and the last thing you want is for them to see you leaving here while a murder investigation's in progress…that's why they're here, so that they have something to put on the news tonight"

"Thanks for the heads up…If I'm seen, then every tabloid in the country will be accusing me of the murder and telling the world how I did by tomorrow morning!"

Everyone took Ishizu's advice and left out the back way and as luck would have it, they weren't spotted. Seto and Mokuba went back home in the limo while Mina dropped off the 3 guys at Yugi's house and then returned home to the Kaiba mansion. Meanwhile, Joey drove back to his own house with not only Mai, but also Serenity as she was in no fit state to stay by herself at home given the fact that she just heard that her husband to be was not only murdered, but also that he had been sleeping with her best friend for the past 6 months. Also, her house was still cornered off by the police as a crime scene and therefore couldn't go back to it, so she had to go with Joey anyway.

… … …

Later that night in the police station…

Ishizu had finished up her report of the days events and looked over the new list of information which she had gathered…

BAKURA, RYOU:

Arrived at Yugi's house around 9:20am, met Duke outside Kaiba Land at approximately 10:00am and the three were there until 12:25pm

DEVLIN, DUKE:

Met Yugi and Ryou outside Kaiba Land at approximately 10:00am and the three were there until 12:25pm

GARDENER, TÉA:

Arrived at Tristan's house at approximately 9:25am, remained there alone until attacked, heard two gun shots, which according to neighbours was at approximately 11:10am

KAIBA, MINA:

Left home at 11:25am with Serenity, arrived at Domino Mall café at approximately 11:40am and awaited arrival of Téa and Mai

KAIBA, MOKUBA:

Left home with Tristan at approximately 10:45am, arrived at Kaiba Land at about 11:00am, joined Seto at 11:05am, 11:30am, 11:45am and midday, remained there until 12:25pm

KAIBA, SETO:

Arrived at office at 9:00am, was joined by Mokuba at 11:05am, 11:30am, 11:45am and midday, remained there until 12:25pm

MOTO, YUGI:

Left home at 9:30am with Ryou, met Duke outside Kaiba Land at approximately 10:00am and the three were there until 12:25pm

WHEELER, JOSEPH:

At Domino maternity hospital for appointment at 10:30am, remained there with Mai until 11:40am, arrived at scene of crime at 12:10pm

WHEELER, MAI:

At Domino maternity hospital for appointment at 10:30am, remained there with Joey until 11:40am, arrived at Domino Mall café at 11:56am

WHEELER, SERENITY:

Arrived at Kaiba mansion at approximately 9:30am, left with Mina at 11:25am, at Domino Mall café at approximately 11:40am and awaited arrival of Téa and Mai

Ishizu looked over the list to try to find any inconsistencies with the information. She even had all of the alibis listed. Yugi, Duke and Ryou's alibi were the security cameras at Kaiba land which showed them there all day. Téa was tied up at the scene of the crime and couldn't have done anything. Mina and Serenity's alibis were the maids and butler at the Kaiba mansion and also the photographers which followed them to the mall. Seto's alibis were his cameras and workers at Kaiba Land. Mokuba's alibi was Seto and the Kaiba land security cameras and Joey and Mai's alibis were the doctors and nurses at the maternity hospital

"Burning the midnight oil?" smirked Officer Allen

Ishizu just smirked back

"Maybe you're barking up the wrong tree"

"What?" replied Ishizu

"What makes you think it was one of them?"

"Each one had a solid motive…even though they're my friends, I'm still a police officer and it's my job to solve this kind of stuff and I just have a gut feeling that at least one of them has something to do with this…I probably wouldn't have jumped to that conclusion if we hadn't have found out about Tristan and Téa, but I think Seto's right, one of them could have used the situation to their advantage if they did know. Because of the Téa thing, I'm convinced someone's lying." Ishizu solemnly replied

"But what if it's not…what if it's just a burglary gone wrong?" Allen asked her

"It's not…the psychology's all wrong…how many burglars do you know ransack a house without stealing anything?"

"What!?"

"Think about it…we don't actually know how long Téa was passed out for, there would have been plenty of opportunity to take a good deal of stuff, yet when we checked the house, there didn't appear to be anything missing…they all had motive, I know that for a fact without even having to ask and I'm sure most them would have the means.."

"But what about opportunity?" Allen asked

"That's where the detective work comes in, I know one of them did it, I can feel it…and they're gonna pay…"

… … …

Looks like Ishizu's on to them…or is she just being paranoid…I guess you'll have to read on to find out. I had to put in the whole thing with Téa and Tristan because I'm just evil, if it doesn't make sense now, don't worry because it will later when Téa explains her side of the story, but how will Yugi react to the whole story? That's something else you'll have to wait for…

However you'll have to wait a while because I'm off to America for a month on Wednesday so I'll not be able to write for a while. However, I do know how this story will end and who dies next as I have the end written already, so as soon as I get back, I'll start posting again, I promise, after all I'll have the rest of the summer holidays

Remember to read and review (even while I'm away) or deoki will cry, we love reviews, even if they're flames and constructive criticism is always welcome and even feel free to speculate on who you think you killed Tristan, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

So I'll say goodbye for now

Deoki: and it's goodbye from me also and you'll be glad to hear that I'm writing the next chapter

Yami deoki: I heard that!

Deoki: good! You were meant to!

Yami deoki: I'll see you at the next murder (storms off in a rage)…


	5. The Other Woman

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh but I do own Mina and Allen

Wow! It's been over a month since I've updated. I'm just back from a month in America…it was great! I loved it! (Even if I was away from a computer for a month, I still loved it) as this is the summer holidays I will try to update sooner.

You may or may not be glad to hear that I am writing this chapter and we won't be hearing from my yami as she's too busy obsessing over a guy (sounds stupid, I know, she's softer than she makes out to be). Thank you to those who have reviewed so far…I love you guys

So here's chapter five, I wrote this one on the plane (hey I had to do something to occupy myself for 6 and a half hours), this chapter is the start of the investigation and also Téa's side of the story…

Twisted Deceit

… … …

Recap (chapters 1-4):

Mina Kaiba is a famous movie star who has returned home to spend more time with her friends and family. Not long after she returns home she is invited round to Tristan and Serenity's house for dinner and also an announcement. Everyone is invited including Joey and his pregnant wife Mai. At the dinner, everyone finds out that Tristan and Serenity are getting married, everyone except Duke and Téa are happy by the announcement. Duke is upset because he still has feelings for Serenity even though it has been almost 5 years since they broke up. A week later, the girls and guys decide to split up and go out for a day to celebrate. When Mokuba and Serenity become concerned that Tristan hasn't arrived at his destination, Joey is sent to find him. When Joey arrives at the house it is surrounded by police and he discovers that Tristan has been murdered. Joey then contacts everyone to get them to go to the police station for questioning. Emotions run high among everyone and the situation is worsened by the news that Tristan was secretly cheating on Serenity with Téa, the news shocked everyone especially Mina and makes her feelings of the situation clear by slapping Téa across the face. After looking at the statements made by everyone and given the circumstances with Téa, Ishizu is convinced that one of her friends is the killer…

Chapter 5 – The Other Woman

Ishizu fell asleep at her computer and never went home that night. She was swamped with extra work as most of the officers in her department were out on the sick after being food poisoned at the last police ball. Ishizu was one of the few smart people who avoided the fish, as she took a bite and thought it tasted a bit funny. She also stayed there all night because she was waiting for the lab results to come back as there were prints found on the gun and she wanted to know who they belonged to.

"Hey…hey…hey Ishizu!" shouted Officer Allen as he poked Ishizu to wake her up, "Hey sleeping beauty wake up!"

"Piss off Allen" moaned Ishizu as she rolled over to face the opposite direction

"Fine, I'll just go then…I guess you're not as interested in these lab results as you said you were" he smirked

Ishizu immediately sat up straight on hearing this and of course she looked as if she hadn't slept in a month

"Man, you look like shit" laughed Allen

"Shut up and give me the report" replied Ishizu as she held out her hand, "anything interesting?"

"There was actually"

"Like what?" asked Ishizu as she lifted her head to look at Allen

"The lab found two sets of prints on the gun. One set was old and had been on the gun for quite a while it would appear and the other set was very fresh which suggests that they were the prints belonging to Tristan's killer and were easier to test for…" continued Allen before Ishizu cut him off

"Do they belong to anyone we know?"

"That's an interesting question…" Allen said as he turned the page on the lab report in Ishizu's hand, "the fresh prints who we believe belong to the killer didn't show up in the archives thus suggesting that the killer is someone with no file…"

"And the other set?" enquired Ishizu

"This is the part I think you'll like…" he turned the page again, "we have a name and address for the older set of prints, take a look…" he pointed to the top of the page, "I don't really know your friends that well, but from what you've told me about them and from what I witnessed yesterday…I wouldn't have thought that that person had this gun"

"I can believe it" yawned Ishizu as she stretched and Allen looked at her with a puzzled expression, "here's a tip for you Allen…never underestimate anyone in an investigation, particularly a murder investigation. Remember, you don't know what goes through the head of a killer…I'm not saying that the owner of the prints had anything to do with the killing especially as they are old prints…" Ishizu stops speaking and thinks for a second, "Does it say how old the prints are?"

"As they are quite weak, the lab wasn't able to get an exact time, but they said the prints were on the gun for at least a year...why do you ask?"

"Isn't it strange to you that this gun that was used to kill Tristan yesterday was once held by someone connected with this case more than a year ago…call me paranoid but that may not be a coincidence" remarked Ishizu

"Are you trying to say that the owner of those prints got someone else to kill Tristan?" asked Allen

"Don't quote me on that, but it's a possibility and at this point we can't rule anything out. And if I find that this person didn't have a licence for that gun, I'll have them lifted for possession of an illegal firearm and possible connection with this murder"

"Well I can start looking for the licence while you go home and have a hot bath and a rest…you look exhausted and you haven't stopped working this past week!" commented Allen

"I appreciate your concern but since everyone's out from that food poisoning I have extra work to do let alone deal with this murder case"

"Well you can work by yourself, 'cause I won't be sitting next to you from the way you smell!" he laughed

Ishizu slapped him on the back of the head as she walked towards the corridor, "in case you've forgotten, there are showers in the locker rooms and I brought an extra uniform with me so you won't have to stand the smell for much longer you cheeky bastard and for you're information" she continued, "you smell worse than I do everyday and you don't hear me complaining! So just stop moaning, start looking for that licence and tell me what you've found when I get back!"

With that Ishizu stormed off in the direction of the locker room while Allen just shook his head, laughed and sat down at the computer to search for a licence associated with that gun.

… … …

Ishizu wasn't the only person who didn't get a good night sleep, across town at the game shop Yugi was just getting up even though he barely slept that night. When he went down to the living room at the back of the shop he tripped over something and landed face first on the floor and that something was of course Duke who had decided to crash on Yugi's floor for the night. Ryou was on the sofa (because Bakura threatened Duke if he didn't let Ryou have the sofa) and was wakened by Yugi's curses as he hit the floor

"Damn it! What are you guys still doing here? I thought you two were away home!" growled Yugi as he picked himself off the floor

"We were going home, but then we thought it would be better to stay here…besides I don't want what happened to Tristan to happen to me as well" yawned Duke

"Like hell that's why! More like you were just too lazy to walk home last night" added Bakura

"You again" grunted Duke, "I could say the same about you!"

"At least I'm man enough to admit that I couldn't be bothered going home…and what do you mean about what happened to Tristan?"

"Well…whoever got Tristan may have something against the rest of us" Duke answered

"You make it sound as if his murder was planned, from how I see it, it was a botched burglary…unless there's something you're not telling us dice boy" smirked Bakura

"Why don't you just…" started Duke

"Why don't I what…are **you **threatening **me **dice boy?" Bakura stood up as if ready to pounce on Duke, "because when someone threatens me…"

"Why don't you both shut the hell up!!!" shouted Yugi as he was now standing up. No sooner had he shouted at them there was a light from his Millennium puzzle…

"Yami" chimed both Bakura and Duke

"If you're going to argue then piss off else where. Yugi barely got any sleep last night and he's still upset about Tristan…it hasn't even been a full day and you're acting as if you don't even care!" Yami calmly stated as he didn't want the situation to get any worse

"But I don't care…that's the point" smirked Bakura

"I doubt that Ryou would agree"

"But he is a wimp anyway, just like your hikari" he continued

"You leave Yugi out of this, he's just upset because one his best friends has just been murdered…not that I'd expect you to understand"

"Looks like the almighty pharaoh is getting soft in his old age"

Yami looked as if he was about to take a swing at Bakura but Duke stepped in and stopped him

"Look at yourselves…acting like a couple of little kids!" shouted Duke, "I'm not in the mood for a trip to the shadow realm today!"

"You've got some nerve dice boy!" Yami shouted back, "you were ready to punch his head in only a minute ago!"

"That was then; this is now and stop calling me dice boy!"

"I'll call you whatever I want…" continued Yami

The guys continued arguing with each other for a while until they heard someone knocking on the front door

"I'll get it…I thought the shop was staying closed today?" asked Bakura

"It is…I wonder who it could be?" replied Yami

It was obvious now that the guys had stopped their arguing so Duke and Yami sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV while Bakura answered the door

"Oh it's you…what do you want?"

"I just want to know if Yugi's here…I want to talk to him" replied Téa

"Haven't you caused enough trouble already? I guess Mina didn't hit you hard enough" Bakura said in a menacing tone

"Why don't you mind your own business…now is Yugi here or not?" she asked again

"Unfortunately Yugi is unavailable at the moment as he's wallowing in self pity…but your dear pharaoh is here if you want to talk to him" sarcastically replied Bakura, "go on, he's in the living room with dice boy"

Téa proceeded through the shop and went into the living room while Bakura shut the door behind her

"Where's Yugi?" she asked Duke

"Huh...oh, bathroom I think" lazily replied Duke

"I'll be back in a minute, I'm getting a drink and no I'm not getting you guys anything…if you want it you can get it yourself" shouted Bakura through the living room door on his way to the kitchen

"Bastard" coughed Duke

"I heard that…**dice boy!**"

After a few minutes of sitting with Duke, Bakura reappeared shortly before Yami

"Yami…is Yugi ok? I'd like to speak to him" asked Téa

"I don't think he's in much of a mood to talk _{especially with you} _but since it's you…" Yami trailed off and there was another shine off the Millennium puzzle as Yugi reappeared.

"Hi Téa, is something wrong?" Yugi quietly asked

"It's just that we never got a chance to talk yesterday and I…" she turns round and sees the other two guys staring up at her and Yugi with smiles on their faces, all that was missing was a box of popcorn, "can we go somewhere else?"

"Sure let's go outside away from these two idiots"

"Be careful now Yugi or you'll be her next fuck buddy!" laughed Bakura

"Why don't you just fuck up you bastard! I've already been through enough without you having a go at me!" screamed Téa through her tears

"Ignore him Téa, lets just go outside" said Yugi as he took her by the arm and lead her outside.

Yugi lead Téa into the park near the game shop and sat her down on the nearest bench next to the pond and calmed her down

"I guess you all know what that was about" Téa said to Yugi as she stared up at him through her watery eyes

Yugi didn't reply, but simply nodded and sat down beside her

"You must hate me Yugi" she whimpered through her tears, "just like everyone else"

"I don't hate you Téa; you know that Bakura hates everyone and he's loves to torture as many people as possible…" before he could continue Téa cut him off

"But what about Mina, she never goes out of her way to attack people"

"Mina is a Kaiba. So long as she carries the name of Kaiba, she'll carry the attitude as well…and since she was pretty close to Tristan, it just hit her hard to hear" gently replied Yugi

"And what about you?" she asked as Yugi turned to look her in the eye, "don't you hate me?"

"Téa, you and I have known each other too long for me to hate you…I'll admit that I was shocked, upset and a little disappointed to hear about you and Tristan, but since I'm not directly involved, it's not my place to say anything about it. However, I would like to know why"

"Why?"

"Yes, I'm just curious to know how the whole thing came about between you two. If you don't want to tell me now, I'll understand; after all, yesterday was pretty rough on you given that you were there when it happened, but I'd like to know at some point…isn't that why you came here…to tell me" added Yugi while struggling against his own tears

"You know me too well"

Téa's tears grew; she looked down at the ground without saying a word and buried her head in her hands. After sitting there for what seemed an eternity – but was only about a minute – Yugi felt sorry for her, after all, she was still his best friend and he's known her since they were kids and he also has affectionate feelings for her although he's not sure if it's love, but he put his arm around her and tried to comfort her. She then began to sob her story into Yugi's chest…

"It happened about six months ago, at Kaiba and Mina's birthday party. I remember Mina came home just for 3 days over her birthday and all of us went out to the club. Tristan had had quite a lot to drink…" Téa stopped briefly at the mention of his name and sobbed some more, but continued, "and was practically drunk, I remember that I was the same as all the drinks were on the house courtesy of the Kaibas. He came up to me and started babbling about the biggest pile of shit, I didn't exactly care, I was almost too drunk to pay any attention, but the conversation eventually came round to his love life and how he wasn't too happy being with Serenity in the sexual department and one thing lead to another and next thing I know, we were fucking in the bathroom…" Téa pulled away from Yugi at this point and stared out across the pond to not make eye contact with him, "I've really liked Tristan for a couple of years now, I just didn't want to refuse him and I couldn't believe the fact that he wanted to sleep with me, …I thought it was just a one night stand, but we ended up meeting up again and it just continued on…yesterday was just another meeting for us but…well, you know how that turned out"

Téa just stopped speaking. There was an awkward silence between them apart from the noise of Téa's sniffles. Yugi didn't know what to think or even say to her. Yet Yugi still couldn't bring himself to hate her, in fact it was just the opposite, he just wanted to comfort her. The only thing Yugi could think of to do was to pull her back into a hug and there they sat for the rest of the morning with Téa sobbing her heart out into Yugi's chest.

… … …

Back at the police station, Ishizu had returned from her shower to find Allen still sitting at her computer

"Did you find anything?" she asked

"Yep…there it is" he said as he handed her a sheet of paper, "I even printed it out and everything. This gun was licensed just over a year ago and therefore it is perfectly legal for this person to have this gun in possession."

"Damn…but this still doesn't change the fact that this person could have known something about the murder"

"And it doesn't change the fact that we still don't have an owner for the other set of prints" commented Allen

Ishizu appeared to be in deep thought and walked toward the window and stared out of it.

"Get everyone back here this afternoon for fingerprinting" Ishizu flatly stated

"What! Don't you think that's a little hasty and besides, it's only been a day and some of them may think we're accusing them and others may still be too upset, think about Serenity"

"This is a murder investigation **officer **and it's our job to get to the bottom of it. We need to find out who owns the prints on this gun and given who it originally belongs too…I'm certain that one of them will be a perfect match." Ishizu turned around and looked directly at Allen, "call them up and ask them to come here, don't tell them why just say that we need help with our enquiries or they'll never come…we'll explain to them when they arrive"

Allen just nodded, returned to his desk and started dialling while Ishizu just walked out of the room to prepare for the impending chaos…

… … …

Well that's chapter 5, I didn't really like this chapter but I decided to include it 'cause in most murder mysteries you always have the "in-between" or "filler" bits to show how the story progresses. But…the next chapter should be better as everyone is together waiting to get fingerprinted, some are willing to co-operate, others won't and some even feel insulted as to why they should have to do such a thing. Also we find out the owner of the gun and suspicions rise as someone claims to know who the murderer is…

Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to post and don't forget to review, I accept all kinds of reviews or you can email me with any questions. Also, my yami will return for the next chapter and she has something nasty planned for it…

Thank you, deoki


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